


Somewhere We Can Find Eachother

by Isbjorn



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: AI Victor, Alternate Universe - Artificial Intelligence, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Angst with a Happy Ending, Everyone Is Gay, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, UST, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Yuuri is a Humble Angel and Must be Protected
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-03-22 11:11:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13762899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isbjorn/pseuds/Isbjorn
Summary: Plagued by the memories of a failed installation Yuuri finds it hard to believe anyone will hire him ever again, let alone the owner of one of the most popular entertainment companies in the world. Can he find the confidence to do what is right and free the Statues under Amber Inc.'s control or will he crumble under the pressure? How will Yuuri cope with his unexpected attraction to the Statue he is supposed to repair?(Basically, I binge watched Black Mirror and then suddenly had the thought: "What if Viktuuri but robots??? and discussion of what actually qualifies us as human beings and grants us the rights and privileges we expect to follow that title???")





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (If you read this fic before 02/23/2018 I am very sorry but I posted the wrong draft. The entire first chapter below is different and contains different information and backstory necessary to understand the plot. It is also miles better written.)

“I don’t understand why you would chose me.” Yuuri chuckled tugging at the end of his suit’s sleeves and locking eyes with the door to the right of the man sitting before him. He was almost confident he could jump the table, shove past the man, and run down the hall fast enough to escape.

“Mr. Katsuki, I honestly don’t know of a better candidate.” The excited grin splitting the man’s face leaned forwards as if to cross over the table and swallow Yuuri whole. He imagined he could see the outline of every tooth.

“But the Seung-gil project…”

“Was a minor setback in an otherwise promising and impressive career.” The man quickly interrupted waving the small issue away. Yuuri would hardly call it a minor anything, he could still hear the pained scream of the Statue, he could still see the fear in Phichit’s eyes as he held the SG-2398’s writhing body, could almost smell the vomit in the room. Yuuri’s stomach turned and he felt his throat tighten as his chest clenched painfully. It had been going so well too. Phichit had figured out the source of the suicidal tendencies in SG-2398’s code, he had isolated the few bands and created the patch, all Yuuri needed to do was perform the reset and installation. It was going to be easy.

Seung-gil was supposed to be easy. He wasn’t the first Statue to turn hostile and he wouldn’t be the last; since their creation Statue’s had proven to be just as flawed as the humans that programmed and brought them to life. They had just as much capacity for emotion, good or bad, malicious or generous, as humans did. It was almost eerie how easily a Statue could pass for a human, how similar the network of wires and code inhabiting metal skulls imitated the flesh and blood brains of humanity. It was enough to warrant an addition of “Artificial Intelligence Classification-Statue” to the various laws and constitutions in the world. It was enough to grant most Statues their free will within the companies that owned them. They were given days off and allowed to go wherever they pleased and do whatever they wanted when they weren’t working. It was enough to compromise Yuuri’s judgement and damage Seung-gil’s code beyond repair.

Phichit would later tell Yuuri that it wasn’t his fault; they couldn’t have known how the added code would fry SG-2398’s capacity to express emotion. It was a ridiculous request on the Handler’s behalf in the first place. The Handler had demanded they not only fix the long, drawn out depressive episodes Seung-gil was prone to but to modify his expression of happiness as well. The Handler wanted Seung-gil to be more personable, more outgoing, more willing to acquiesce to the demands of those persons or corporations he was lent out to. Apparently, it wasn’t enough for the handsome Statue to sing songs dripped in silk and spiced with bourbon, he needed to perform as well off-stage and with crowds as he did with a microphone in his hands.

No one had ever attempted to change a Statue’s personality before. It was unexplored territory and both Phichit and Yuuri had been extremely wary of the request. There was something in the glint of the Handler’s eyes, the clench of his fist that rubbed Yuuri the wrong way and Phichit’s hamster, always tucked carefully into a pocket of Phichit’s lab coat, hadn’t liked the man either. However, the project was headed by a very wealthy man with far reaching connections and if Phichit and Yuuri were to turn down the opportunity it would mean the death of their careers outside of back alley operations and sub-par codes. The image of Seung-gil’s eyes rolling into the back of his head came to the front of Yuuri’s mind and he shivered.

“Mr. Katsuki?”

Yuuri’s attention snapped back to the present, his eyes clearing from the fog of the past to connect with the rheumy ones before him. “Can I take the night to look over the files and consult a colleague?” The man’s grin doubled in size and he leaned back.

“I would expect nothing less! In fact, we’ve already set a room up for you in our housing wing. It’s the exact room we will give you should you chose to accept the project. We’d prefer you did not leave campus until the contract has reached its conclusion and the Statue is performing at his peak once again.”

Yuuri cleared his throat and looked down at his hands gathering up whatever courage he had left and stamping down the protest of his pride. “Sir, do you know the extent of the damage caused to SG-2398 as a result of the failed installation?” He heard the chair creak as the man leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yes, I do. I read the complete file and watched the footage before I ever contacted you.” There wasn’t even the hint of a waiver in the man’s voice.

“We are talking about VN-1726 here. If that sort of thing were to happen again…”

“It won’t.” The man declared simply. Yuuri wished he had even an eighth of that confidence.

“But if it did… He could be damaged beyond repair.” Yuuri’s fingers dug into his palms and he looked up and into the man’s eyes. “If I mess this up I could kill him.” The cold smile the man returned was enough to chill Yuuri’s blood.

“This is why you always have a Plan B.”

“I don’t under-“

“CG-7520. He is nearly as good at what he does as VN-1726 and what he lacks in technique he makes up for in charm. Our company will grieve the loss of our star, but, he will be forgotten eventually. The world moves on.”

Yuuri felt his stomach give another weak heave into his throat. The sweat running down his back was a cold trickle of pain, the weight in his shoulders should have shoved him from the chair and onto the floor. The man across from him kept speaking as if every word he said didn’t drive the knife deeper and deeper into Yuuri’s heart.

“People have grown too attached to these machines,” the man continued. “They forget that we _made_ them. They forget that we control them in the end. We chose whether they multiply or fade into nonexistence. Statues can’t reproduce, they are completely dependent on us for that, and that will always make them less than us.”

Yuuri grit his teeth. He could feel the grind of his molars in the back of his skull and the length of his neck. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to strangle the man or burst into tears, either way a certainty settled over him; Yuuri Katsuki needed to burn this man’s company to the ground. “You’ve got a deal then,” Yuuri smiled as carefully as he could to keep the anger out of his expression. The man across from him blinked in shock before clapping his hands around Yuuri’s offered one and shaking it excitedly.

“I guarantee you will not regret this. It will be the defining moment of your career, it will completely erase that nasty business with SG-2398, and I can guarantee it will open all sorts of opportunities for you in the future, Mr. Katsuki.”

Yuuri discreetly wiped his hand on the fabric of his pants as the man turned to face the door and lead him out of the room. His eyes fixed on the back of the man’s neck as he was led down various hallways and into at least three different elevators to the housing wing. As they shook hands once again outside the door to Yuuri’s temporary home Yuuri marked the man’s face in his mind. As the keys were handed to him and the door was closed behind him he barely made it to a spotlessly white couch before he passed out with sudden exhaustion.


	2. Chapter 2

Pain had settled into the base of Yuuri’s neck and spine and no amount of rubbing or stretching had managed to ease the protestation at sleeping on a couch. Yuuri tried to roll his shoulders inconspicuously as he was led into the research wing of the facility. The slim woman leading him looked over her shoulder every now and then as if not sure that Yuuri was still following or if he had gotten lost in one of the many turns they had to take to get there. Yuuri could feel his heart beating a bit faster at every glance backwards, his throat tightening and something clawing at the inside of his stomach. A million questions rang through his mind fighting for dominance. By the time Yuuri was lead into the correct room he was already on the edge of his nerves. The smile and invasive touch of the woman’s hand on his bicep did nothing to calm him down, nor did the deep set frown of the technician waiting for him at the door.

“You’re late.” The man crossed thin arms over his chest and glared daggers from beneath messy blonde bangs.

“I’m sorry?” Yuuri blinked stupidly.

“Yuri Plisetsky,” the man declared thrusting a hand out for Yuuri to shake. Yuri’s grip was stronger than Yuuri anticipated and he could feel the vice of the other man’s fingers as solidly as he still felt the woman’s touch on his bicep. A cough came from behind Yuri and Yuuri looked up to see a man dressed in all black with a gun holstered on his hip.

“Otabek Altin, security officer.” The man’s voice was deceptively light compared to the stony expression and dark tint to his eyes. His posture didn’t speak much for his strength but the lean muscle that showed beneath the short sleeves of his shirt and the tight stretch of his jeans were the kind you earned through hard work.

Yuuri shifted nervously as he returned the simple nod Otabek offered him. “Where is Viktor?”

“He’s on his way,” Yuri replied with a roll of his eyes. The blonde turned on his heel and brushed past Otabek to sit in one of the chairs set up before a bay of monitors. “Apparently Beka and I are the only ones that can keep to a damn schedule around here.” The security guard simply shrugged in response and settled amicably in the chair beside Yuri who had already pulled out his phone.

Yuuri stared at the pair for a moment before realizing he was simply standing in the middle of the room awkwardly watching the other two men. The awkward silence was a weight that settled along the tops of Yuuri’s shoulders and filled the space of his lungs. His heart stuttered and began to beat as quickly as it had in the hallway, sweat beading on his palms. There was absolutely no where else to sit in the room besides the leather seat reserved for the statue. Yuuri cleared his throat, trying to draw the blonde technician’s attention, when he was suddenly interrupted by the opening of the door.

A woman dressed similarly to Otabek held the door ajar as a slightly disheveled, silver haired man followed her into the room. He barely looked up as he walked to the leather chair set aside for him and when he sat down his eyes fixed on the joint between wall and floor. Something in the listless droop of the statues’ shoulders reminded Yuuri of the slump of Seung-gil’s body in his arms. Yuuri shivered.

“Alright, let’s get this over with.” Yuri huffed, bolting to his feet and hooking up the few necessary wires from the computer to Viktor’s neck. “I’m not even sure why that asshole upstairs is making us do this,” Yuri growled. “We’ve done this a million times and we always get the same damn results, just because you’re some sort of fucking genius doesn’t mean you have magic eyeballs.”

“Uhm? I’m not a genius…” Yuuri mumbled. The technician gave Yuuri a blank look from behind the statue and then walked back to the monitors.

Yuri Plisetsky was right; every test they ran inside and out was clear. The statue was in perfect working order. Yet he didn’t say a single word throughout the entire process, his eyes never moving from that spot on the floor even when Yuuri blocked his view. The only proof Yuuri found that Viktor was even conscious were his slow blinks and the faint jump he gave when Otabek stood from his chair and walked over to the leather examination chair.

The security officer could have been a statue himself for all he spoke. Somehow Yuri seemed to know what he was thinking without any verbal communication from his side and the other man seemed content with this. Yuuri wondered if the security officer had forgotten that he was in the room; the officer kept his gaze locked firmly on Yuri.

Something was off with the atmosphere, something was off with the way Viktor tensed at every touch or word spoken too close to his ears. Between Otabek’s intimidating silence and Yuri’s constant mumbling complaints it was no wonder they hadn’t found what was really wrong with VN-1726. This was getting them nowhere.

“Alright, now that we’ve gone through all of the preliminary bullshit you can try and figure it out. We’ll be over here.” Yuri gestured with his chin to the chairs, grabbing Otabek’s arm and pulling him along.

“Actually, I think that’s enough for today,” Yuuri interrupted. I’m going to print off the readings and talk to my partner from previous projects. Yuri shrugged and changed course from the chairs to the door, hand still on Otabek’s arm.

“Don’t be late tomorrow,” Yuri threw over his shoulder. The woman from before, who had apparently been guarding the door, slipped in after the pair had left and led Viktor from the room without a word. Yuuri stood for nearly 30 minutes, just watching the previously occupied space, remembering the unfocused gaze of ice blue eyes and how they seemed to fade into the rich brown that haunted his nightmares.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So I decided to try something new and create a fake Discord server, channels, and accounts for my fic! My lovely friends [Al (Phichit)](https://twitter.com/adjitay) and [Riki (Yuuri)](https://rikichie.tumblr.com) helped me with this part but if you guys like this idea my other friends may show up later on. ;) Please let me know how you feel about this!
> 
> For Clarity:  
> Discord Username for...  
> Yuuri: Yuuwi owo / Katsudone  
> Phichit: >;3c / Pick-it / Sad Hamster
> 
> Edited 03/19/18 to add a transcript of the conversation between Yuuri and Phichit for those who cannot view the images!

The full sized bed was no more comfortable than the couch had been the night before. Yuuri stared at the darkened ceiling, sheets twisted around his legs and pushed half down his uncovered chest. The covers were too heavy, the sheets smelled somehow _too_ clean, the pillow was too thin and in the background of all these discomforts was an unending loop. A scream Yuuri couldn’t stop, the shake of limbs that shouldn’t be feeling pain, the frozen glaze over brown eyes. Yuuri desperately grabbed for his phone from the night stand and blinked into the bright light of the screen pulling up his close friends Discord group.

 

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/139201651@N03/39098805680/in/dateposted-public/)

 

> Yuuwi owo: Any1 up?
> 
> >;3c: Hewwo? owo

 

There was a moment of confusion before Yuuri heaved a long sigh, looking up to see his screen name. He flipped to settings and then back to chat.

 

 

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/139201651@N03/26029304227/in/dateposted-public/)

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/139201651@N03/40193600344/in/dateposted-public/)

 

> Katsudone: Quit changing my name u meme.
> 
> Pick-it: awww no funnnn!!!!! :c
> 
> Katsudone: -_-
> 
> Katsudone: Anyways, do u remember the SG project...?
> 
> Sad Hamster: Is that an actual question?
> 
> Sad Hamster: I'm literally still doing his regular maintenance.
> 
> Katsudone: Right, I forgot you had become a technician... 

 

Yuuri paused, fingers hovering above the electronic keypad. He imagined Phichit would be in a building similar to this one, laying in a bedroom set up as simply as his. Of course after two years every inch of Phichit’s room would be covered in posters and pictures, each one sunny and featuring a smiling brown face squished against various friends and family. Phichit had had an entire section of wall next to his bed painted with that chalkboard paint specifically so he could jump out of bed and scrawl down whatever code he had been dreaming of or had started working through in the middle of the night before sleep came to carry him away from his work.

 

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/139201651@N03/40860078552/in/dateposted-public/)

 

> Katsudone: How is he doing?

 

There was a noticeable, and uncharacteristic, pause before Phichit sent his reply.

 

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/139201651@N03/39098805570/in/dateposted-public/)

 

>  Sad Hamster: About the same as when you left....
> 
> Sad Hamster: He has made progress with me personally but he still refuses to do any kind of performance.

 

Yuuri sighed and closed out of the app, laying his phone on the nightstand once more. It’s easy to tell yourself that everything will work out okay, that you cannot ruin someone’s life beyond repair, that it can’t possibly be your fault. But Yuuri had done the installation, he was the one that was supposed to guide Seung-gil through the adjustment. He failed. And the statue still hadn’t recovered.

It took an hour of fidgeting and turning and throwing the sheets and pillows onto the floor before Yuuri fell asleep. Images of Viktor performing, of him smiling, throwing winks at the people eagerly watching him, played in Yuuri’s dreams. Dreams that turned those wide smiles into twisted grimaces, those flirty winks into blamin eyes. Yuuri woke up sharply before his alarm with the worst bedhead of his life and a headache to rival any he had had before.

“Late again,” Yuri scowled as a still disheveled Yuuri walked through the examination room door. Otabek barely looked up from the keyboard he had been typing on to give Yuuri a welcoming nod. Viktor was already sat upon the examination table, wires poking from the back of his hand and trailing to the back of the monitors.

“There has been no noticeable change in VN-1726’s code since yesterday.” Otabek’s voice was as deep and flat as Yuuri had expected. Although this couldn’t have been new information for him the blonde technician’s head snapped around to watch Otabek give his report. “Nothing abnormal has appeared and VN-1726 is still fully functional.” Otabek gave a short shrug as he finished and he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest. The blonde beside him looked back at Yuuri, one eyebrow raised.

“Right…” Yuuri coughed, turning to Viktor. He approached slowly taking Viktor’s hand in his first and looking beneath the small exposed patch of wiring to see the connection between the cables. The orderly tangle of blue and purple wires had never seemed as incomprehensible as they did in that moment. There was nothing particularly special or new about them, Yuuri had seen diagram after diagram of this same configuration in his schooling as well as his job. However, something tempted his eyes to return to the smooth white skin he held in his hands.

His eyes traced the mimicked veins up the smooth wrist to perfectly manicured fingers. The back of Viktor’s hand was a solid weight in Yuuri’s grasp, those long fingers idly hanging in the air. If Yuuri had swallowed a bit harder than was appropriate as he imagined sliding his fingers to entwine with Viktor’s no one seemed to notice. Yuuri quickly looked back at the wire connections, triple checking their security. He then let go and began to instruct Viktor through a series of movements and tasks. Viktor responded to each and every one flawlessly, the only off putting thing in his performances was the lifeless glaze to his eyes, the way he wouldn’t meet Yuuri’s gaze, the way he seemed to use just enough strength to do something and nothing more. As if every task sent him to the edge of his endurance.

“Viktor?” Yuuri interrupted. The statue stopped mid-recitation of the Russian alphabet and looked listlessly at Yuuri’s shoulder. “Viktor, this is getting us nowhere.” Yuuri paused, looking down at the other man was getting a bit awkward. Yuuri turned on his heel and dragged a chair from the control center to the spot just in front of Viktor and sat down neatly. “Nothing is wrong with your body, we’ve run every test imaginable and everything is in perfect working order. Yet you are still not showing emotion or performing socially.” Viktor’s eyes remained fixed on Yuuri’s shoulder, as if dedicating every single ounce of his energy into dissecting each and every thread of his sleeve. “Viktor, I don’t think any of us have asked how you are feeling?”

The room went quiet as if even the monitors were caught off guard. Yuuri could hear the held breath of every person in the room, the pause as they thought of how incredulous this was. Moments that felt like hours passed before Yuri’s loud voice broke the tension. “Fucking _great_ we hired a fucking psychiatrist! What are we going to do? Talk about his fake, mimicked emotions and coax him back in to performing?” Otabek looked up at the blonde sharply but the technician didn’t so much as flinch. “I’m done with this. This is a waste of my time.” Yuuri held his breath as he heard the technician storm up to the door and then slam it behind him. Otabek merely sighed, standing up after a second to follow the other man out the door.

“Viktor?”

The statue’s gaze slowly moved up the curve of Yuuri’s shoulder to the lines of his neck, across his cheekbone to his eyes. Their brilliant blue was even more alluring when concentrated back at you. The chills racing down Yuuri’s spine from the careful once over were enough to send a blush across his cheeks and Viktor’s eyes fell back to the splash of red before meeting Yuuri’s gaze once again. “As they said, it’s a waste of time.”

Yuuri’s eyes widened, mouth freezing around a response. The all encompassing sadness that had flashed in Viktor’s eyes was the only real emotion Yuuri had seen since meeting the statue in person. Slowly, Viktor stood from the table and walked around Yuuri. As he grasped the handle of the door he paused. “I’ll… see you tomorrow.” The door opened and clicked shut, Yuuri stared at the empty space where Viktor used to be.


End file.
